


Crimson Lotus

by DimensionSlip



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: A different kind of Feral Dimitri, Alternate Universe - Kimetsu no Yaiba, Demon Dimitri, Demon Slayer Felix, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21547375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DimensionSlip/pseuds/DimensionSlip
Summary: Dimitri loses control, and it's up to Felix to stop him before it's too late.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 1
Kudos: 54





	Crimson Lotus

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is heavily based on these [sketches by Mei](https://twitter.com/meintaiko/status/1183014614243540994). Honored to have the blessing to write things out! As mentioned in the linked tweet, this is more or less based on a scene in KnY's red light district arc, so if you haven't reached that part of the series, please beware of rather obscure spoilers…!

"Yo, squirt."

The voice... is familiar, Felix thinks. But lying face down like this is much easier than concentrating on it, as is continuing to sink into the comfort provided by the land of unconsciousness.

"Playing dumb now, are we?"

The speaker draws near, and Felix feels the aforementioned kneel next to him. As he feels the said person smile briefly, his brows crease, not at all amused by that and his inability to block out the sound in order to sleep some more.

The tip of a scabbard nudges his shoulder. "But if you don't move now, the boar's gonna lose himself."

 _The boar…_ What in the world is this person talking about? Felix didn't really have animals to take care of, didn't he? After all, it's not exactly practical to carry them around when he's a demon slayer on a mission, and—

Felix's eyes fly open.

_...Dimitri._

"Save him," The speaker—nay, _Glenn_ says, rising as Felix turns to finally give him a proper look.

 _No, don't go_ , Felix wants to say, but his mouth wouldn't form the words amidst the tightness that seizes his throat. So he settles for stretching an arm towards Glenn's departing form, willing for the thought to reach him.

"You're the only one who can, Felix."

* * *

When Felix wakes, it's to a hard rooftop and a pounding head, and empty air where his hand is currently outstretched. Groaning, he lets his arm drop over the roof tiles, and splaying his hand over it, he starts to push himself upright. He forces himself on a knee, gasping as his chest aches at the exertion, his heart pounding more than it should. His lungs still feel like they're on fire and it still hurts to breathe, but at the very least, he's no longer seeing stars dance behind his eyes, bloody as his brow is.

Gripping his sword hilt, Felix manages a foot on the roof, letting out a shaky exhale as he clutches a hand to his chest. He can't afford to take his time with this. Not when Dimitri is out there, fighting and giving it his all just to save Felix.

The thought fuels him to stand on his two feet, breaths coming out in heavy puffs as he surveys the sparkling district before him. Dimitri could not have gone too far, and—

A scream catches his attention, and it's only by virtue of its unusually high pitch that his stomach doesn't drop at the sound.

Someone is ablaze, and it isn't Dimitri.

_But Dimitri..._

Felix squints as he sights that familiar blond crown amongst a disembodied mess that reforms itself, a grotesque sight that should not shake him. But when it's Dimitri that's involved, it's difficult not to be concerned, not to start sliding down the rooftop despite his wounds, bent on reaching Dimitri before all is lost.

As Dimitri crushes Cornelia's burning head underfoot, Felix says a silent prayer as he reaches the end of the roof and jumps down to the next level, hoping he'd be able to make it before it's too late.

* * *

"Dimitri...!"

Felix dives in, pulling his scabbard over Dimitri's mouth, barely making it before he bites the courtesan bystander he just injured. Hands around the grip and the middle of the scabbard, he holds on tight, clinging to his sword as if his life depended on it.

"Stop, damn it!"

The courtesan gasps as Dimitri starts protesting around the makeshift gag, pushing Felix back and causing him to land bottom first on the ground. Struggling to keep his hands on his sword, Felix shifts to lock his legs around Dimitri's torso, forcing him down and flush against his back even as Dimitri continues to try and break free of Felix's grasp.

"You know better than this, you idiot!"

All the same, a pang of guilt strikes Felix, hurting worse than the way Dimitri hustles against his shoulder. The smell of Dimitri's blood lingers around him, a fresh reminder of how much Dimitri had hurt himself while Felix was unconscious.

"Go to sleep. You've done enough."

Dimitri flails his arms, and Felix narrowly avoids an elbow to the side of the head as Dimitri continues to kick aimlessly at thin air as if possessed.

"I'm okay now!" Felix practically shouts into Dimitri's ear, grunting at the effort. "Sleep, you stubborn boar!"

Dimitri roars, and the next thing Felix knows, he's hovering as Dimitri gets to his feet…

...Then pushes off with alarming force, his jump causing them to fly into the air and into the tatami ceiling. Felix gasps in pain as they crash past the barrier into the second floor of the establishment, much to the shock of all onlookers.

"Someone came through the floor?!"

Human screams and chatter greet Felix's ears, but he tunes them out in favor of keeping Dimitri from attacking anyone else, legs still curled around him despite the fresh sting across his back.

He can't lose the last of his loved ones. Not to the enemies they fight, much more to an inner struggle against his own nature.

"Dimi.. tri...!"

Felix coughs, lungs tight and short of breath that he is unable to catch as Dimitri tries to crawl towards an onlooker.

"Go... to sleep…!"

As Felix wrestles with Dimitri, another shriek pierces through the night. Wind sweeps a tornado across the room, the walls of the brothel flying around them as an unwanted arrival makes her presence known.

"You've really done it now."

Cornelia, that damn witch, presents her wrecked form before them, burns decorating her body, with half her face bearing the worst of it.

"You can even use demon blood techniques?" she hisses, "Yes, a curious technique that only burns demons…"

As she steps in closer, Felix's gaze darts towards the courtesans that had taken cover behind the sliding doors. 

"On top of that, I'm not healing very well at all. This extremely pisses me off. _Extremely._ "

 _This isn't good, not at all._ He has to protect all these innocent bystanders, yet Dimitri is showing no signs of giving, and with the way he's busy with Dimitri, he's in no position to defend himself, much more other people.

Felix grits his teeth. _He can't._ He can't just let go of Dimitri, yet—

"...Is this not the legendary Dimitri? He is well on his way into becoming a demon."

As if drawn to his troubles like a predator to bleeding prey, a familiar face swoops in from the hole Dimitri created and appears literally right before them, causing Felix's eyes to widen like saucers.

"You made such a huge show in front of _that_ person, and _this_ is how it turns out?"

Jeritza growls at him in disbelief, and even with his current preoccupation, Felix can't help but scowl right back. Just who does this guy think he is?!

"A pillar came from that direction?" Cornelia says, unamused. "This saves me the trouble."

"You are annoying," Jeritza says without looking Cornelia's way. "Silence. I am talking over here."

Then, he throws Cornelia a scathing glance. "You are not an Upper Moon demon, are you? You are way too weak. Not at all the demon I am looking for."

"...Huh?"

Is Cornelia's last word as her head falls cleanly off her shoulders. Felix wears her look of disbelief on his face as well, shocked at how easily Jeritza manages the feat that eluded Felix for so long.

"Hey."

Jeritza's voice snaps him out of his reverie, his face back in Felix's personal space.

"The fight is not over yet. You should do something about your friend."

"I know," Felix says, grunting as Dimitri continues biting his sword. That much is obvious, and did not need telling twice.

"Foolish brats who grumble around have no place on the battlefield," Jeritza says, "Sing him a lullaby or something."

Dimitri howls, and with the same power behind his earlier jump, throws Felix and himself backwards—this time right into window screen behind them. The thin wood gives easily, the action sending them sprawling back into the ground outside the brothel.

Felix grunts as he crashes back first, breaking Dimitri's fall at the expense of his much abused backside. The fall has not tempered Dimitri's tantrum by any means, and he still continues to thrash about.

Felix falls silent as he considers his next move, his throat raw from the shouts that don't seem to reach Dimitri's ears. What should he do now…?

_Sing him a lullaby or something._

His eyes light up at the last piece of advice he received, and regrettable as the source is, it is definitely one thing he has not tried.

"There were once two friends—"

It's not exactly a lullaby, but it's all Felix has, and is the first song that comes to mind. He exhales sharply as Dimitri kicks against the dirt and blindly throws a punch backwards, barely missing his temple.

"Time and space—" 

Dimitri blindly throws a punch backwards, barely missing Felix's temple.

"—their bond transcends."

 _Ow._ Dimitri's elbow finally finds its mark, Felix knows his singing voice is much to be desired, but darn, does Dimitri have to be this stubborn about things?!

"Loog and Kyphon," Felix continues, voice strained as Dimitri's hand finds its way to a fistful of Felix's hair and starts pulling, "they are called—"

...It seems to be working, however. Mouth agape, Dimitri stops pulling, eyes wide as if caught in some trance.

"In great stories ever told."

Still, Felix doesn't stop even as Dimitri stops struggling all together. He continues singing about the mighty Loog and his trusty friend, Kryphon, in memory of a legend long passed. Loog, who withstood all obstacles with his unstoppable might. Kryphon, his trusty sword, equally unyielding and loyal. Two friends like them, braving the odds in order to find their desired end amidst these bleak and damning circumstances—

To Felix's surprise, Dimitri starts bawling in the middle of his song. But all the same, his surprise is tempered by relief as he sees the single horn on Dimitri's forehead start to shrink away.

"O, Loog and Kyphon, they might fight—"

Felix relaxes his grip around his sword, slowly letting it fall to his side as he continues singing this song they both loved as children.

"But they always make up by the end of the night."

Dimitri's sobs show no signs of stopping, a sight that grips Felix's heart as he swallows back the lump in his throat. It's oddly reminiscent of the time when they were younger and would both come crying to Glenn after a fight, laughably at the same time more often than not.

As they stick their tongues out at each other in mutual derision, Glenn would often chuckle and take them both by the waist. And pulling them close together, their small hands clasped in his, he would sing this very song in a deep baritone that Felix only ever hopes to achieve.

"They are the best of friends..."

Felix closes his eyes, taking in a breath to ease the tightness in his chest. Is Dimitri remembering those times as well? It feels like he's imagining it in some respect, but at the same time, it feels like a rather logical conclusion given the memories this song evokes.

"...Always together until all ends."

He lets silence fall over them after finishing the song, taking the time to catch his breath afterwards. When Felix's lashes flutter open moments after, he finds Dimitri fast asleep on his lap, tears still in his eyes. With Dimitri's horn and demon marks gone, he looks unusually peaceful curled up like this, nothing at all like the monster that had gone on a rampage earlier after Felix had gotten himself hurt.

Felix lays a hand over Dimitri's shoulder, stroking it briefly before he stashes his sword around his belt and scoops up Dimitri's shrunken form into his arms. Without any prying eyes to judge him for the act, he presses a kiss to Dimitri's brow, preparing to rise when something pierces out of the rooftop of the building they got thrown out of.

He freezes as he glances to the sky. _A sickle? Spinning like a boomerang?_ He can also smell Jeritza's blood in the air—could it be another demon?

"Yo."

Felix whirls towards the voice's source, only relaxing once he spots the approach of two familiar figures. Sylvain, the source of the greeting, waves, smiling as if he isn't just as badly bruised as Felix. Ingrid looks like she isn't faring any better either, but likewise manages a faint grin when Felix's gaze falls on her.

"Sorry we're late," Ingrid says, training her gaze on Dimitri, then back on Felix. "Are you both fine?"

Felix exhales. "We'll live. Go back up the old man."

Ingrid furrows her brows at Felix, watching him as he rises. "'Old man'…?"

Sylvain angles his head towards the hole on the rooftop. "Probably Jeritza."

"Leave it to us," Sylvain says as Ingrid nods, "Go rest. Felix."

"...Thanks," Felix says, casting his gaze to the side briefly as he adjusts his hold around Dimitri, "But hell if I'm resting."

He fixes a glare on Sylvain. "I'll follow right after."

Ingrid gasps, taking a step backwards. "Felix…!"

Felix snorts, regretting the action later when the exertion comes with a sharp pang of pain. "Look, you two aren't looking hot either. We all need the help we could get."

Sylvain chuckles as takes a step forward and claps a hand over Felix's shoulder. "That's our Felix."

Felix stifles a cringe, settling for throwing Sylvain a dirty look. "Whatever, just go."

"Yes, sir," Sylvain says, raising his hands in mock surrender. "You and Dimitri take care, okay?"

Felix _hmphs_ in response, totally noticing how Sylvain's eyes soften when his gaze falls on Dimitri's tear-streaked face. Sylvain looks like he's about to say something more, but Ingrid pokes his shoulder with the butt end of her scabbard before he could vocalize his thoughts.

"Let's go, Sylvain."

Ingrid, bless her darn soul, gets on to business, saving Felix from what other embarrassing things are bound to come out of Sylvain's mouth. And for what it's worth, Sylvain nods and follows Ingrid as she makes their way to the brothel's ruined entrance.

Felix turns away from them, ambling towards another entrance in the building, nearer to the rooftop where he left Dimitri's box. With his rush of adrenaline long faded, it's becoming difficult for him to walk again. Each step is a burden, his muscles burning with the effort it takes to propel himself forward.

But Felix can _still_ move his legs, and that's all that matters. For as long as his body permits, he will continue walking forward towards the future he seeks—one where his family is successfully avenged and Dimitri no longer has to suffer from this curse forced upon him.

And for Felix to be able to do so, he must overcome this challenge first, one step at a time.

**Author's Note:**

> P.S. I decided to shamelessly reuse a song I wrote for another fic since it seemed like it would fit, so there goes!
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/slip_fe3h)


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